Living With Borderline Personality Disorder
The Struggle of Mental Illness
Jul 14, 2009 Kathy Schlossmacher
A sufferer of BPD can be inclined to serious depression, self harming behavior and poor interpersonal relationships. There is disagreement in the psychological community as to whether the illness can ever be cured, but there is a strong belief that it can be controlled with the use of medication and behavioral therapy.
Fighting the Fight
Living with BPD is a tough job. It requires the sufferer to constantly be mindful of their behaviors and whether or not these behaviors are appropriate actions or rather symptoms of their illness. This requires continual vigilance on the part of the BPD sufferer to monitor his or her own behavior as it happens. Marsha Linehan, a noted psychologist, in the early 1990s developed Dialectical Behavioral Therapy to help BPD suffers to live with their illness. DBT has enabled many sufferers to live fully functional lives.
The Key to the Struggle
The key to keeping the illness under control is mindfulness. The sufferer must be aware of his or her own behavior and note when that behavior is inappropriate. At that moment the person must take a step back and look at the behavior, thereby beginning the process of changing the behavior as it happens.
When one becomes aware of the behavior, one then attempt to act opposite to the symptomatic behaviors they are inclined to act on. This attempt to act opposite can be very difficult and on some days impossible for the person to accomplish. Yet, it remains an important way for BPD sufferers to work to improve their daily lives.
Acting Opposite
When someone with BPD wakes with the inclination to stay in bed all day due to the serious depression characteristic of the disease, it is important for that person to get up, get dressed and get moving. Many folks do not realize the struggle that this often entails for the sufferer. The sufferer must also form some kind of structure to their day in order to distract him or her self from the often overwhelming emotions experienced by those with BPD. For some people this may even require making lists of what is to be accomplished that day, even if the list is simply about cleaning the house or making time to read. This structure allows the sufferer to be distracted from the illness and can keep the person from acting out in self destructive ways. It is also important for the sufferer to take meds as prescribed and attend therapy as scheduled in order to make it easier for him or her to function in daily life.
Support
Everyone needs support in their lives, the victim of Borderline Personality Disorder is no different. The kind of support that serves the sufferer of BPD best is the kind that in a firm but gentle way makes the sufferer accountable for behavior. This support needs to be understanding of the massive struggle that the sufferer goes through while still enabling the person with BPD to get up, get moving and follow the structure that he or she has built to control the illness.
Conclusion
Borderline Personality Disorder is an extremely difficult illness to live with, but it can be controlled and normal happy lives can be lived with the willingness to struggle and the right support to help the person cope.
Symptoms of BPD
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